What Is Vibe Coding Understanding The Trend In Modern Programming

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 20, 2026, 4:53 AM

Digis | Digis Software Development Blog | What Is Vibe Coding? Understanding the Trend in Modern Programming In early 2025, a new phrase began circulating in developer communities: vibe coding. Some hailed it as the next step in software engineering, while others dismissed it as just another tech buzzword. But as adoption spread across startups, enterprises, and AI labs, the question became harder to ignore: what is vibe coding, and is it really reshaping the way we build software? At its core, vibe coding represents a shift from manually typing syntax line by line to guiding an AI model with natural language.

Instead of micromanaging every function, developers describe intent — and let the AI generate the code. To answer the central question — what is vibe coding — we need to look at how developers are interacting with artificial intelligence in 2025. Vibe coding refers to the practice of writing natural language prompts instead of typing out code in the traditional way. A developer describes what the program should do, and a large language model (LLM) generates the source code. This approach reframes programming as a conversational process. Rather than concentrating on syntax, developers focus on intent, system logic, and the user experience they want to deliver.

In this model, the human plays the role of architect and reviewer, while the AI takes on the function of a collaborator capable of generating scaffolding, components, and even entire applications in seconds. “Vibe coding” is a new and loosely-defined term in software development that refers to the practice of prompting AI tools to generate code rather than writing code manually. In software engineering , development is reshaping from strict, manual coding and becoming more flexible and AI-powered—and vibe coding is at the forefront of this change. “Vibe coding” is introduced by renowned Computer scientist Andrej Karpathy in February 2025 and emphasized the significance of AI tools in software development. This concept is in line with developments in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, especially large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude and OpenAI’s Codex to help developers stay in the zone of creativity and automate... Vibe coding is a fresh take in coding where users express their intention using plain speech and the AI transforms that thinking into executable code.

The goal of vibe coding is to create an AI powered development environment where AI agents serve as coding assistants making suggestions in real time, automating tedious processes and even producing standard codebase structures.1 By prioritizing experimentation before refining structure and performance, vibe coding embraces a “code first, refine later” mindset. This opens opportunities for developers to prioritize building first and optimizing later. Also, in an agile framework, vibe coding aligns with the principles of fast-prototyping, iterative development and cyclical feedback loops. This allows enterprises to focus on these principles while fostering innovation, instinctive problem-solving and flexible coding capabilities. However, AI simply generates code, but true creativity, goal alignment and out-of-the-box thinking remain uniquely human so human input and oversight is important and cannot be overridden.

While letting AI take the wheel and write the code for your website may seem like a good idea, it’s not without its limitations. MIT Technology Review Explains: Let our writers untangle the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what’s coming next. You can read more from the series here. When OpenAI cofounder Andrej Karpathy excitedly took to X back in February to post about his new hobby, he probably had no idea he was about to coin a phrase that encapsulated an entire... “There’s a new kind of coding I call ‘vibe coding’, where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists," he said. “I’m building a project or webapp, but it’s not really coding—I just see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy paste stuff, and it mostly works.”

If this all sounds very different from poring over lines of code, that’s because Karpathy was talking about a particular style of coding with AI assistance. His words struck a chord among software developers and enthusiastic amateurs alike. In the months since, his post has sparked think pieces and impassioned debates across the internet. But what exactly is vibe coding? Who does it benefit, and what’s its likely future? 👋 Let's Connect!

Follow me on GitHub for new projects. The way some developers write code has fundamentally shifted in 2025. With the rapid evolution of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and domain-specific LLMs, developers are no longer just writing code—they’re guiding AI to generate it. This emerging paradigm, sometimes called vibe coding, is more than just AI-assisted development; it's a workflow where developers focus on intent and design while AI handles much of the syntax and boilerplate. But does this make development more efficient or risk reducing our deeper understanding of programming fundamentals? Let’s take a balanced look at what vibe coding is, how it works, and the implications for the future of software engineering.

Vibe coding is a term that encapsulates a natural language-driven approach to development. Instead of manually writing every line of code, developers: Understanding the concept of vibe coding When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. AI is democratizing access to software development in new and innovative ways, with 'vibe coding' emerging as the latest buzzword for budding developers.

For the uninitiated, vibe coding makes it easy for anyone to get a head start on projects, by merely describing what they want AI tools such as Cursor, GitHub’s Copilot or Replit to accomplish. This is no small thing, especially for those who before had not been able to create software on their own. However, vibe coding requires a high level of trust in the AI’s output, and there are potential trade-offs in confidence and security for a faster turnaround and expanding capabilities to those who would not... Exploring the latest AI technologies can undoubtedly help developers experiment with new ways in which to do things better and faster, and vibe coding is no exception. However, even Andrej Karpathy, the former AI director at Tesla who coined the term, advises that the methodology is better suited for “weekend projects” than for more complex projects. No votes so far!

Be the first to rate this post. If you’ve recently heard the term “vibe coding” in a meeting or spotted it as Collins English Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2025, you’re witnessing a genuine shift in how software gets developed. This is more than just another productivity trend — it’s a legitimate change in development practices that’s already reshaping the industry. The term “vibe coding” was coined by Andrej Karpathy in February 2025, the co-founder of OpenAI and former leader of Tesla’s AI division. His exact quote captures the essence: “There’s a new kind of coding I call ‘vibe coding’, where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists.”

What makes vibe coding different from simply using AI tools is that you’re accepting AI-generated code without fully understanding it. You’re not reviewing every line or debugging syntax — you’re trusting the AI got it right. are transforming software development, especially for novice and non-software developers, by enabling them to write code and build applications faster and with little to no human intervention. Vibe coding is the practice where users rely on \AItools through intuition and trial-and-error without necessarily understanding the underlying code. Despite widespread adoption, no research has systematically investigated why users engage in vibe coding, what they experience while doing so, and how they approach quality assurance (QA) and perceive the quality of the \aigc. To this end, we conduct a systematic grey literature review of \NumberIncluded practitioner sources, extracting \NumBehavioralUnits firsthand behavioral accounts about vibe coding practices, challenges, and limitations.

Our analysis reveals a speed–quality trade-off paradox, where vibe coders are motivated by speed and accessibility, often experiencing rapid “instant success and flow”, yet most perceive the resulting code as fast but flawed. QA practices are frequently overlooked, with many skipping testing, relying on the models’ or tools’ outputs without modification, or delegating checks back to the \AItools. This creates a new class of vulnerable software developers, particularly those who build a product but are unable to debug it when issues arise. We argue that vibe coding lowers barriers and accelerates prototyping, but at the cost of reliability and maintainability. These insights carry implications for tool designers and software development teams. Understanding how vibe coding is practiced today is crucial for guiding its responsible use and preventing a broader QA crisis in AI-assisted development.

Recent progress in large language models (LLMs), accessible through \AItools, such as GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT, is rapidly transforming software development. These tools enable developers to describe functionality in natural language and receive executable code, thereby speeding up routine work and lowering the barrier to entry for individuals with limited programming experience (Peng et al.,... With the use of these tools, even people without any formal training are increasingly able to develop functional applications (Feldman and Anderson, 2024). This change represents a broader shift in developer roles, which now involve orchestrating, supervising, and integrating rather than writing every line of code (Smith, 2025; Naughton, 2025). However, while these tools are transforming how software is created, less is known about the new coding practices emerging from their everyday use. Within the wave of rapid adoption of \AItools, a new practice known as vibe coding has emerged.

Coined by Karpathy in 2025 (Karpathy, 2025a), vibe coding is a new programming approach where users employ \AItools to write code by describing their desired outcome (in natural language) without fully understanding the \aigc. For example, a recent report noted that 25% of Y Combinator’s Winter 2025 startups had codebases written almost entirely by \AItools, illustrating how quickly this practice is spreading (Mehta, 2025). In contrast to AI-assisted programming, vibe coding prioritizes speed and experimentation over understanding.

What Is Vibe Coding Understanding The Trend In Modern Programming

People Also Search

Digis | Digis Software Development Blog | What Is Vibe

Instead Of Micromanaging Every Function, Developers Describe Intent — And

In This Model, The Human Plays The Role Of Architect

The Goal Of Vibe Coding Is To Create An AI

While Letting AI Take The Wheel And Write The Code